


there is no time (when you take my hand)

by minseokiki



Category: FANXYRED (Band), THE9 (Band)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, If You Squint - Freeform, Kissing, Spin the Bottle, Truth or Dare, side qyj
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24779485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minseokiki/pseuds/minseokiki
Summary: “Kiss me.” Yuxin uses her gentlest tone to say this, the one she saves for Keran only, keeping it silent enough that she’s sure not even Keyin can overhear it. Although she’s not quite smiling, her kind eyes make it look like she is, somehow, as they sparkle at Keran in a silent invitation. “If you want, that is.”Keran removes the other hand as well, uncovering her face entirely, the request seemingly having sparked her interest. She opens and shuts her mouth a few times, as if considering the offer, before finally saying “okay”, in an equally as small voice.Or, THE9 play Spin the Bottle like a bunch of bored 14 year-olds. Kissing ensues, obviously.
Relationships: Liu Yuxin/Lu Keran
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	there is no time (when you take my hand)

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to thank Kiks for reviewing this for me and helping me pick the title (which is from Night Go Slow by Catey Shaw, by the way, I listened to it on repeat while writing this), she's my baby!!!!!
> 
> Hope you guys like it <3.

Her groupmates are all sitting in a circle on the living room floor when Yuxin comes out of the shower. It’s past ten in the evening and everyone has their pajamas on already, but they all seem a little too excited to be spending their first night on their new place to sleep just yet. 

Yuxin joins them, sitting on the only empty spot left in between Yu Yan and Keyin, resting against the couch and sipping water from the bottle she just grabbed in the kitchen on her way from the bathroom. 

“Yuxin brought a bottle, why don’t we play truth or dare or something?” Keyin suggests, borrowing Yuxin’s water bottle and drinking a bit before handing it back to her. 

“What are we? Fourteen?” Yu Yan retorts as she stretches both arms above her head, seemingly uninterested. 

“Oh, shut up, you're literally the youngest here. Plus, it may be lame but it’s kind of fun anyway. Can anyone come up with something better?” 

“Nah, I’m fine with spin the bottle.” Xiaotang comments and the rest of the girls either nod along or shrug, indicating that they wouldn’t mind playing. 

Yuxin chugs down half of the water and hands the bottle to Keyin, who spins it and grins like a mad woman once it lands on Lu Keran. “Truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” Keran replies indifferently, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on one of them as she waits. 

“Sit on the lap of the person you find the hottest among us for the rest of the game.” Xie Keyin has a knowing smile on her face as she says it, and Yuxin could swear she spared her a quick look before fixing her eyes back on Keran. 

“Come sit in mama’s lap, baby.” Xiaotang speaks loudly, slapping her own thighs once as she visibly tries to keep her face serious. “Now don’t be shy.” 

“Please, not when my lap is right here.” It’s Yu Shuxin who speaks up now, standing on her knees with her hands on the two nearest shoulders — Xue’er’s and Xiaotang’s — for balance and proceeding to sing “how am I so good looking?” in a comically high way. Yuxin simply watches as Xu Jiaqi and An Qi join in on the argument over who’s the hottest one, snickering silently. 

“Not when this lap right here is available.” That’s when Yuxin feels a palm land on her right thigh, creating a loud smacking sound and making the other girls stop talking to look her way. The slap wasn’t even hard, but Yuxin’s eyes go wide for a second, and then she looks up to find a wicked grin on Yu Yan’s face, making it look like she has several teeth more than she actually does – even though she didn’t even want to play a few minutes ago. “Come on, everyone knows she’ll pick you.” 

And so Keran finally gets up to her knees, rolling her eyes once to feign annoyance when the other girls start cooing and squealing teasingly, and mumbles an embarrassed “whatever” before crawling to the other side of their circle. She stops right in front of Yuxin, who’s now looking at her confusedly, and kneels upright as she asks “can I?” timidly. 

And some part of Yuxin’s brain is well aware that she’s staring for longer than needed, probably making the whole situation way more awkward than it has to be, but she really can’t help it. Keran looks down at her, eyebrows raised slightly as she waits for an answer, smooth hair falling over her face, covering part of her eyes, and Yuxin has to resist the urge to brush it away gently. She notices the delicate peachy pink dusting Keran’s cheeks and nose, right above the little mole there, as well as when the girl worries at her bottom lip, seemingly concerned that she might face rejection. 

That’s when the rest of Yuxin’s brain catches up. _Oh, I’m staring_. 

“Sure, sorry. Yeah, of course.” And then she mentally tells herself that a “yes” would’ve been more than enough. 

Keran’s shoulders visibly relax a little and she turns around, sitting back down on one of Yuxin’s thighs carefully, avoiding the other’s bad knee. Yuxin helps leading her down by placing both hands on her waist, even though it’s not really necessary. It barely even makes a difference when Keran sits in her lap since she’s light as a feather — and as graceful as one, too. 

“Alright, it’s my turn to spin the bottle.” An Qi says excitedly, already grabbing the half empty water bottle and spinning it a little clumsily at first, making it fall off the table with a small thud. All the girls laugh lightheartedly, everyone still a little giddy with the warm feeling of something new — of debuting together after a really long, uncertain journey — and most definitely acting kind of silly. An Qi tries again and it only spins a few times before landing on Xu Jiaqi. 

“Dare.” She doesn’t even wait for the question before answering. 

“Um...” An Qi taps a perfectly manicured finger against her chin pensively for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with something. Yuxin is pretty sure not even five seconds go by before a devilish grin spreads across her lips, white teeth suddenly contrasting with blood-red lipstick. “Serenade the person on your left.” 

It clearly takes Yu Yan quite some time to realize she’s the one sitting to Xu Jiaqi’s left, but she practically jumps when the girl turns to her and leans in impossibly close, grinning from ear to ear as she places a hand on the former’s shoulder. Jiaqi starts singing Cai Xukun’s Lover in a low, exaggeratedly sweet voice right next to Yu Yan’s ear, and the latter tries cringing away, but it’s pretty much useless since the other follows not a second later, batting her eyelashes unabashedly and using the hand on Yu Yan’s shoulder to prevent her from escaping. 

Everyone is laughing again, only louder this time. Everyone, except the two girls, that is. Yu Yan is grimacing hard, the corners of her mouth turned downwards comically, but there’s an obvious blush tinting her face almost bright red. Jiaqi, on the other hand, seems to be enjoying herself, small but wicked smile plastered on her face. 

“Why do I feel like this is more of a dare to Yu Yan than to Jiaqi?” Xue’er comments in between giggles, covering her mouth. 

“Please, Jiaqi is having the time of her life.” Keyin adds, wiping a single tear that fell off from laughing too hard. 

Keran is squirming in Yuxin’s lap the whole time, throwing her head back on the other’s shoulder as she cackles loudly. Then, Jiaqi makes a kissy face right when she gets to the chorus, threatening to smooch Yu Yan’s face, and Keran loses it once more, hiding her face in the crook of Yuxin’s neck cutely and laughing into it some more. 

Yuxin would be lying if she said having Keran breathe right against the sensitive skin of her neck didn’t send a shiver or two down her back, but she simply ignores it, focusing on how adorable the girl looks like this instead. 

Then the chorus is over and Jiaqi seems to take pity on Yu Yan, going back to her place and sitting upright as if nothing happened, but still wearing a small satisfied smile. 

“Sorry, meimei.” She says to Yu Yan, maybe not sounding all too sincere. Yu Yan seems to notice it as well, glaring at her, but it doesn't last long since Jiaqi hugs her not even five seconds later and then all is forgiven. 

It’s Xiaotang’s turn and she spins the bottle when no one’s paying attention, and it lands almost right in the middle of the empty space where Keran had been sitting earlier, only slightly more pointed towards Xue’er. 

“What’s it gonna be?” 

Xue’er licks her lips once before replying “uh, dare, I guess” nonchalantly. 

“Kiss Liu Yuxin.” 

And maybe Yuxin imagines it, but it feels like Keran goes a little stiff in her lap. Yuxin realizes she’s still holding the girl’s waist for who knows what reason, but instead of letting go she rubs her sides soothingly for a bit. 

“It landed where I was sitting, though...” Keran mumbles grumpily, and maybe she didn’t mean to say that out loud but it doesn’t go unnoticed by Keyin’s attentive ears, since she’s sitting right next to them. 

“Keran is right, that should still count as being her place. Like, if it lands where she’s sitting now, it’ll be Yuxin’s turn, so we should just consider that spot as hers for the rest of the game for, you know, logistic reasons.” 

You’d think Keyin is just trying to help, but judging by how she’s smirking it’s pretty clear she has some sort of hidden intention. 

“Please, you just want to kiss Yuxin. Fine by me, though, go ahead.” Xiaotang says, looking unimpressed. 

“What?! No, I don’t! I mean, you could spin it again or whatever, I just didn’t think it was clear whom it’d landed on... But, like, whatever, leave it as it was. I don’t care.” The more Keran rambles on, the more unconvinced the others look. 

“But you didn’t say anything until you heard what the dare was.” Shuxin accuses teasingly, dimples showing as she grins cheekily. 

“Oh, my God. I really hate all of you...” Keran covers her face with both hands and, although the whole situation is both very endearing and quite amusing, Yuxin finally takes pity on her. 

She tugs at one of the girl’s wrists lightly, in a silent request for her to uncover her face and look at Yuxin, and Keran complies, even if only partially, removing one of the hands and twisting her neck a little to peek back at her. 

“Kiss me.” Yuxin uses her gentlest tone to say this, the one she saves for Keran only, keeping it silent enough that she’s sure not even Keyin can overhear it. Although she’s not quite smiling, her kind eyes make it look like she is, somehow, as they sparkle at Keran in a silent invitation. “If you want, that is.” 

Keran removes the other hand as well, uncovering her face entirely, the request seemingly having sparked her interest. She opens and shuts her mouth a few times, as if considering the offer, before finally saying “okay”, in an equally as small voice. 

The older girl gets off Yuxin’s lap for a moment, standing on her knees, then turns around and straddles her as carefully as she can manage, trying not to lay any of her weight onto the other. Once Yuxin takes notice though, she wraps both arms around Keran’s small waist and pulls her down so that she’s fully seated on the former’s thighs. 

Keran places her hands on the younger’s shoulders at first, but then decides to cradle Yuxin’s face in between them instead, her touch painfully gentle as if handling a porcelain doll. She asks, “can I?”, and Yuxin can barely hear it over the sound of blood rushing in her ears, but she definitely doesn’t miss the way Keran’s lips move around the two words, since she’s staring directly at them. She nods once, looking back up in time to see the older’s eyes fluttering shut prettily, and that’s what makes it feel extremely real. 

_She’s about to kiss Lu Keran._

Keran is sitting in her lap, her eyes shut, lips pursed slightly and sweaty fingers just barely brushing the other’s cheeks. Yuxin can feel her heart pound against her ribcage as if trying to escape, and she wonders if the girl in front of her can feel it too, somehow, since their chests are just a few centimeters shy from meeting. 

It’s just a peck — two, actually, because the first one lands on the corner of Yuxin’s mouth, so Keran angles her face into a better position almost imperceptibly and kisses her again. Keran’s upper lip fits perfectly in between the other’s lips, and Yuxin resists the urge to suck it into her mouth. For now, at least. 

It’s over way too soon, but when their mouths part, their foreheads stay connected for a moment, noses brushing softly once or twice. Yuxin opens her eyes in time to see Keran’s own open slowly, and she swears it’s an even prettier sight from this up close. 

“Get a room!” An Qi yells and then everyone starts throwing pillows at the two girls, and the mood goes back to what it was just a round before. 

Except maybe not entirely, because although Keran goes back to sitting with her back turned to Yuxin, something is just not the same. Keran allows herself to lie back onto the other’s torso completely, and Yuxin lets her, deliberately holding her waist now — and Keran also lets her. 

Once every two rounds or so, Keran will throw her head back onto Yuxin’s shoulder to laugh, or giggle into her neck, and the latter gets quite a few glimpses of her lovely flushed face. 

Eventually, Keran is the one who ends up holding her hand. She’s just playing with Yuxin’s fingers mindlessly at first, only half of her attention on the action while the other half is still on the game going on, but then she intertwines their fingers and stops moving them altogether. 

Her hand feels cold against Yuxin’s, so the latter takes her other hand into her own as well, hoping to warm it up, even if just a little. Or at least that’s what she tells herself. 

When it’s Keran’s turn to spin the bottle, she leans forward to reach for it, Yuxin’s hands falling to her hips naturally when she lets go of them. Keran’s shirt rides up a little to reveal the small of her back and Yuxin averts her eyes awkwardly in a barely successful attempt to look at anywhere but the exposed skin a few centimeters away from her thumbs.

It doesn’t last more than a few seconds, though, because then Keran is back to lying against her, her left hand finding Yuxin’s right one and pulling it back into her lap as soon as she does so, fingers intertwining naturally this time like puzzle pieces falling into place. 

It’s hard for Yuxin to ignore how easy it’d be to get used to this. To the way Keran’s soft hair brushes against the side of her face when she moves sometimes, or to how her shampoo smells, floral but citric at the same time, sweet and fresh — and the delicate fragrance suits her personality just right, somehow. To how the pad of Keran’s thumb draws random patterns on the back of Yuxin’s hands tenderly, and to how her entire body shakes against the other’s when she laughs really loud, a pretty, blooming sound that manages to make just about anyone at least smile along. 

More than once, Yuxin has to remind herself that this is just part of the game. For now, at least. 

“Truth.” An Qi’s answer brings Yuxin back to reality, and Keran’s question comes so fast you’d almost think she’s had it planned for months now. 

“Would you hook up with Lin Fan?” 

An Qi really isn’t one to get intimidated or lose face easily, and that’s what makes the embarrassed expression she’s wearing now absolutely priceless, even biting down on her crimson-tinted bottom lip nervously before answering. 

“Yeah...” 

“Girl, please, don’t look so mortified. Everyone and their mom would hook up with Lin Fan, you’re not special.” Keyin comments, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly for good measure. 

“Now I know what An Qi’s next dare is going to be.” Xiaotang adds with what appears to be a mischievous smirk. 

“Wow, will you look at the time!” An Qi checks her phone hurriedly, getting up before anyone can protest. “It’s midnight already, and we need to catch a plane in a few hours. I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to sleep.” 

They’re all ready to argue, but then Xue’er also checks her phone and confirms it. “Guys, it really is past midnight. I think we should head to bed.” 

“Yeah, I can barely keep my eyes open...” Jiaqi agrees, rubbing her eyes as she leans her head into Yu Yan’s shoulder. 

“Fine, but don’t you think I’ll let that matter go so easily.” Xiaotang squints at An Qi threateningly, already getting up to her feet and stretching her limbs after sitting on the floor for so long. 

The girls start leaving to their respective rooms and Yuxin sort of panics a little, because she knows it’s time to say or do something before Keran leaves, or else the moment will be gone and who knows when she’ll have an opportunity like this again, so her heartbeat quickens once more. 

_Do you wanna stay here with me a little more?”_ , is what she means to say but doesn’t. Yuxin clears her throat thinking that’ll help her gather the courage to actually speak up, but it’s useless. 

Neither of them says anything, but for some reason they still linger around as the others leave, Keran’s thumb still stroking the back of Yuxin’s hand lazily. 

“Aren’t you guys coming?” Jiaqi is the last one to stand up, looking a little groggy from how sleepy she is. 

Yuxin bites down on her bottom lip, and she’s so inexplicably nervous and frustrated that her palm starts sweating under the weight of the other girl’s hand. She squeezes Keran’s hip with her other hand lightly, hoping that the gesture alone somehow gets her message across. 

Keran looks back at her for a moment and simply asks quietly, “do you wanna hang around here a bit more?”. Just like that. Yuxin nods, envying how easy it was for her to voice her thoughts. Keran then turns her attention back to Jiaqi, “we’ll just stay here for a bit.” 

They know for a fact Jiaqi will probably pester them about it in the morning, but she seems too tired at the moment to even acknowledge the fact that the two girls are staying behind to spend some time alone, so she just waves at their generic direction and leaves. 

So they’re left alone, just the two of them in the huge living room. Yuxin is sure the other can feel how sweaty her hand is and she almost feels like pulling it back, but decides against it when she hears Keran’s shaky breathing. It’s pretty comforting to know she’s not the only one who’s nervous. 

“Do you wanna go to the rooftop?” Apparently, Yuxin didn’t lose her voice completely, even if it sounds a bit hoarse from the lack of use when she speaks up for the first time in a while. 

“Yeah.” 

Keran stands up and immediately offers the other her hand and, although Yuxin knows it’s not necessary, she takes it anyway and doesn’t let go even after getting up, using her other hand to grab a blanket from the couch. The taller girl leads the way, but Yuxin trips as soon as she tries taking her first step, legs feeling a little numb. 

“Are you alright?” Keran asks, concern washing over her features as she places her free hand on Yuxin’s shoulder to help her regain balance. “Oh... I’m sorry.” 

“What for?” 

“Your legs... They’re numb because I was sitting in your lap, right?” 

“Are you really apologizing for calling me hot right now?” And Yuxin isn’t sure how she went from feeling anxious to being back to her usual flirty self, but to be fair there was no reason for her to even be nervous in the first place. This is Keran, after all. _Just Keke_. 

“Oh, God.” Keran groans and turns her back to the other, tugging at her hand as she starts heading upstairs again. “Is it too late to change my answer? Now that I think about it, Yu Ya-“ 

“Nope, you’re stuck with me.” 

Keran glances back at her over her shoulder briefly while still moving forward, only for long enough that Yuxin is able to catch the playful glint in her eyes and one of her lovely dimples. “I guess that doesn’t sound so bad.” 

And that sentence alone is enough to have Yuxin pressing the blanket she’s holding to her stomach in a vain attempt to calm the wild butterflies swarming in it. 

When Keran opens the door to the rooftop, the warmth of the summer night welcomes the two of them comfortably, a light breeze blowing gently against their cheeks as if to make sure the atmosphere is just right. Yuxin only lets go of Keran’s hand when she realizes she can’t really spread out the blanket on the floor for them to sit on using only one hand. 

They sit in silence watching the star-sprinkled sky for a minute or two before Yuxin breaks it first, “are you nervous about tomorrow?”. 

“Not really. Not right now, at least.” Whatever that means, Yuxin thinks. “But even earlier when they confirmed the flight and went over the schedule with us, I was just feeling really excited.” 

“Yeah, me too. I can’t wait to perform again.” 

“Right?” Keran brings her knees to her chest, laying her head on them while facing Yuxin. “This may sound silly to someone like you, who’s won a survival show before and who’s been in the top two since, like, the first week, but sometimes it still feels strangely like a dream. This whole thing, I mean.” 

“It’s not silly at all... I- Uh, actually, I know exactly what you mean.” 

Objectively, Yuxin is aware that she’s staring a second time that night, but once again, she has no choice but to do so. Keran has a huge grin on, and it’s probably the prettiest thing Yuxin’s ever laid eyes on. 

It’s one of those smiles that not only reach her eyes, but also the rest of her face. Her eyes turn into tiny crescents, their corners slightly crinkly, and they shine so bright that they put the moon and stars above them to shame. Her deep dimples adorn her cheeks and her snaggletooth peeks out shyly, adding to how youthful and full of life she seems right now. Yuxin is sure this is exactly what a dream looks like. 

“What? Is there something on my face?” 

And Yuxin knows Keran is just teasing — she **knows** it — but for some reason she can’t help but answer earnestly, voice barely louder than a whisper, “you’re beautiful”.

Keran’s smile falters and Yuxin mentally curses at herself for being so reckless, trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why she blurted that out completely out of nowhere like that. She doesn’t have to, though, because not even five seconds go by before Keran is leaning forward abruptly and cupping Yuxin’s face in her hands, her lips colliding with the other’s in an almost clumsy kiss shortly after. 

Yuxin’s eyes go wide for a millisecond, and Keran pulls away before she even has the chance to shut them or react in any way. It’s gone just like that, as suddenly as it came. 

“Sorry, I-...” Keran’s eyes are as wide as Yuxin’s were a second prior and, even though she pulled away, their faces are still only a few centimeters apart, the former’s fingers trembling slightly where they linger on the latter’s cheeks. 

And having Keran’s hot breaths hit her lips is extremely distracting, but Yuxin still manages to form a coherent phrase, an amused grin tugging at one corner of her mouth playfully, “what do I need to do for you to stop apologizing for no reason?”. 

It’s hard to tell who’s leaning in, but they’re so close now that their noses touch, eyes locked and breathes getting mixed together as both of them pant slightly. “You could just shut me up.” 

And Yuxin does just that, leaning in and moving her head to the side painfully slow so that their lips only graze each other before actually meeting. And then she’s _kissing Keran_ a second time that night, except now she gets to take her sweet time and savor each and every second to its fullest. 

This time, Yuxin allows herself to suck Keran’s bottom lip into her mouth, running her tongue along it and taking in the faint but sweet taste of her grape-flavored chapstick. Her hand finds Keran’s slender hips, bringing her even closer, their torsos flush against each other, chests moving in unison with each heavy breath. 

Even with how impatient both seem to be, they keep the pace slow, Yuxin’s tongue darting inside the other’s mouth and exploring it almost lazily, hand on Keran’s hips now sliding down the side of her thigh and squeezing softly. Yuxin basks in the sweet sounds Keran lets out against her mouth, from the long sighs and gasps to the small whines that escape her when the former grabs her bottom lip with her teeth and pulls briefly, or when Yuxin’s mouth travels down a bit, scattering open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and throat. 

Keran delves both hands into Yuxin’s soft hair, feeling its silky texture caress the sides of her fingers, then tugs delicately so that they’re on eye level again. Yuxin places a peck on the mole below her mouth and then another on the small one on her nose, for no other reason than because she can, and because the way Keran’s eyes flutter when she does so is a precious memory she wants engraved in her mind, so that she can relive it as many times as she wants. 

They’re both smiling after they pull away completely, and Keran lies back on the blanket to stare at the sky properly, sliding one arm under her head to cushion it. 

The weather is still fairly pleasant, the constant breeze caressing their faces tenderly, but Yuxin’s cheeks feel a bit hot now and her slightly damp shirt clings to the small of her back a little. 

“We should really watch the sun rise from up here someday, I bet it’s really pretty.” Keran comments as she watches the stars, moonlight illuminating her features dimly and giving them an almost silver, blueish glow, her pretty eyelashes casting shadows over her cheeks. That dreamy look is still present in every single one of her facial features, almost making Yuxin want to reach out to check how real she is – even though they literally just finished making out. 

“Really pretty, yeah... We should, just not today.” 

“I know that.” Keran snorts briefly. “I mean, I know I probably won’t get much sleep tonight anyway, but I need to at least lie in a proper bed so that I can actually stand on my feet tomorrow.” 

“I probably won’t, either.” Yuxin lies next to her for a bit, getting a much better view of the stars like this. Keran hums in response. 

“We can nap on the plane.” 

“Yeah.” 

“We really can’t spend the night here, right?” 

“We really can’t.” Yuxin chuckles at the other’s pout and then moves her hand just enough so that her pinky grazes the side of Keran’s. “I promise we’ll do it when we have some free time, though. We can even bring a mattress, I think.” 

“Rooftop camping?” 

“Rooftop camping.” 

“I like the way you think, Liu Yuxin.” It’s hard to tell who initiated it this time, but they’re holding hands again. They’re acting like silly love-struck teens, yes, and they’re vaguely aware of it, but it’s hard not to when the feeling of a new beginning lingers in the air, surrounding them along with the lazy summer heat, strange and exciting, making everything feel like a first time. “This month feels more and more like a dream.” 

And Yuxin tries so hard to hold it in, keep the thought to herself, but she’s sang this so many times in the past few months that it practically rolls off her tongue on its own. “My- my dream, my- my- my dream.” 

A splutter of laughter leaves Keran’s mouth before Yuxin can even finish the verse, but the former adds a “hey!”, then giggles some more. 

“Dork... Why did I pick you as the hottest member again?” 

Yuxin’s first instinct is to protest or act completely outraged at such remark, but a much better idea crosses her mind before she can do so. In a swift move, Yuxin half sits up and places both hands on the floor on either side of Keran’s head, hovering over her and biting down on her own tongue to stop herself from laughing at the surprised expression the other girl wears, eyes going comically wide. Yuxin tries to look as composed and serious as she can, even raising one eyebrow defiantly. 

She lowers her upper body slowly until their mouths almost meet and Keran goes a little cross-eyed from staring too hard at her lips. Yuxin misses Keran’s mouth on purpose, lips barely brushing against her cheek on their way to her ear, where the former finally stops moving to whisper, “you tell me”. 

“You’re- ugh, you’re insufferable.” Keran feigns annoyance like she often does, but it has little effect since she’s blushing hard and the next thing she does is pull Yuxin down by the collar of her shirt, their mouths crashing in yet another graceless kiss. 

One of Yuxin’s hands finds Keran’s now bare waist where her cropped top rides up slightly, stroking the sweaty skin there as they make out some more. 

Only a minute or two go by before Yuxin pecks the other’s lips and collapses next to her again. Keran turns her whole body towards her and hugs Yuxin’s waist, nuzzling into her shoulder sweetly before resting her head on it. 

Yuxin swears she can actually feel her own heart melt inside her chest at the action, so she snakes an arm around the back of the girl’s head so she can lay on it instead of the hard ground. 

“Is this... Uh, you know...” Kerans starts awkwardly and Yuxin’s free hand meets the other’s arm where it sits on her stomach, tracing the tattoos there with her fingers tenderly. 

“This doesn’t have to be a one-time thing, if you want.” 

“You mean star gazing on the rooftop?” Keran plays dumb, but judging by her teasing tone and the smile in her voice it’s pretty clear that she knows exactly what Yuxin is referring to. 

“That, too.” 

“I’d like that.” 

They end up falling asleep like this, somehow, Yuxin rising with the sun and waking up Keran so that the two can sneak into bed before any of the other girls notice that they’re gone. 

And although sleeping on the ground was far from comfortable, both of them go through the next day in a fairly good mood for some reason, exchanging secretive looks and smiles like teenagers.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated! Thanks for reading <3


End file.
